Wounded
by happyday girl
Summary: Set in season 1- When a hunt for a Wendigo goes wrong, one of the brother's has to make the ultimate choice-leave a brother to save the lives of others, or help your brother no matter what? Please review! Not a character death. Suspense and Drama
1. Chapter 1

**Hello!**

**I know I should be concentrating on updating my other fics, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone! ^^ so here it is!**

**This is set in the first season, with some hurt!Sam-this is for you, supernaturalrenegade!**

**I hope you enjoy this first chapter!**

**...**

'Dean, shouldn't we wait for morning before going off to look for this thing?'

'Relax Sammy, I'm just scoping out the place.'

'...With all the camping stuff, the ammo and the guns?'

'...just in case...'

'Dean!'

Sam Winchester stopped dead on the forest path and crossed his arms, scowling at his brother's back.

Dean, sensing his brother's presence was no longer beside him, stopped too, and looked guiltily back at his younger brother. 'Come on man-we can set up camp and spend the night here, then go look for the bastard at first light.'

'That's not "staying in a warm cabin, making sure we have everything and are all set" is it Dean?' Sam scowled, using a high pitched voice for his brother's.

'Dude, this thing is killing people-and it aint resting! So come on, we can set up before it get's too dark.' Dean said, before walking back off again, leaving Sam in the middle of the path.

'Unbelievable...' he muttered, before trudging up the path after his big brother.

For the past few days they had been in a small town near the mountains of Ohio. The fugly on offer this time was a suspected Wendigo, and they had managed to track it down to this area of woodland, on the bottom edge of a high mountain range lined with trees.

'Run this case past me again.' Dean asked as Sam caught up with him.

'The local's has been reporting missing livestock, sheep, cattle, for months now, but no ones taking any notice-but now, the local kids are disappearing, and the last place they were in were these woods, and the base of this mountain.' He said, pointing at the mountain which rose prominently beside them.

'But the bit I don't get it why the wendigo is feeding so greedily? I mean, one monster can't get so hungry, can it?' Sam gave his brother a sideways look.

Dean shrugged. 'Depends what their doing when their not feeding.' He replied.

Sam nodded, trying to stop the tide of unease flowing through him.

The sun was setting over the mountain, and pretty soon it was getting so dark Dean couldn't see in front of his face, let alone spot a supernatural creature lurking in the damn undergrowth.

He sighed and stopped, looking around him. They had come to a stop in what looked like a clearing.

'Ok, we'll came here tonight Sammy-and tomorrow that fugly in going down.' He grinned, dumping his backpack full of gear on the floor, as well as the duffel he had slung over his shoulder.

Sam gingerly put down his bag as well and surveyed the clearing. It was deadly silent, not even the sound of crickets permeated the air.

'I hate it that it's so quiet.' He muttered, and he saw his breath misting out in front of him like smoke.

'I like it-you can hear the creature better when there's no other sound around.' Dean replied, and Sam turned to see him with his tent material out in front of him.

'We should make a fire first, and get warm.' Sam pointed out, shivering to make his point.

'Ok then Mr outdoors-go get some firewood and I'll build you big fire!' Dean grinned, before turning back to his tent, frowning and scratching his head.

Sam chuckled and started to walk into the slightly wooded bit around the clearing.

'Sammy, be careful, ok?'

'Sure Dean...' Sam smiled, grateful for his brother's care. He spent a little while getting used to the area, before picking out some dry wood and leaves to make some good tinder for the fire.

'Sammy?' he heard Dean call out, and he hurried back to find Dean with a worried look on his face, before he glared at him. 'Don't do that again.' He warned him, waving the hammer he was attempting to use to pin down his tent.

'Do what?' Sam grinned, knowing full well his brother's anxieties when it came to him. It annoyed him, but he was used to it by now.

'You know perfectly well what-go on then, get a fire going...Ug.' Dean muttered, bumping his chest with his fists.

'Ug?' Sam repeated, getting on his knees to sort out the fire.

'Yeah, you know-like a caveman? Ug Ug!' Dean repeated, banging his chest again.

'Weirdo...' Sam muttered, grinning and shaking his head.

'Bitch.' Dean replied.

'Jerk.'

Xx

'Sammy?

'What?

'...Sammy?'

'What?'

'...My tent broke.'

Sam sighed and unzipped himself from his sleeping bag and got out of his tent. The fire was still roaring in the middle of them, and Sam stoked it a little to help it along. He crept to his brother's tent and laughed out loud when he saw what had happened to his brother's tent.

It had completely fallen apart. With Dean inside it had totally collapsed, and now it lay on top of his brother like a big, waterproof blanket.

'You know why that happened don't you?' he grinned, raising his eye brows at where he guessed his brother's head was.

'No, why?'

'Cos you put it up!'

'...shut up'

Sam laughed as he began to rescue his brother from the mess of collapsed tent, and soon Dean was out, his hair flattened with a mood to match it.

'Well, it's ruined now!' he glared, kicking the remnants of his tent.

'My tents big enough for us both to sleep in?' Sam offered.

'I don't wanna sleep with you.' Dean replied, looking shocked at the very idea.

'Dude, we'll be in separate sleeping bags.' He chuckled, before heading off to his own warm- upright- tent.

As he zipped himself back in he heard Dean mutter- 'Wait up!'- Before he was jostled aside and his brother bolstered his way into his tent.

'I thought you said it was big enough for the both of us?' he grumbled, growling as he fought to get into his sleeping bag and zip himself up.

'Well, I thought it was!' Sam replied indignantly. 'I could have let you sleep in your waterproof bedding!' he grinned, before lying down and looking at the top of his canvas.

'Well...night then Sammy!' Dean said, elbowing him in the side.

Sam grinned and shook his head. 'Night Dean...' he muttered. His smile faded as the uneasy feeling returned with a vengeance.

He knew this was just the beginning of something-and neither of them were going to like it one bit.

**What did you think? The next chapter will have more action and drama in it, I promise! ^^**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please review!**

**x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello!**

**I thought I should update this, as I'm really excited about this fic and really want to write it-so here it is! **

**I'm sorry this is a little dark or not as humour-filled as the last chapter, but-and I'm not sure if anyone really wants to know this- I failed my driving test this morning, and it's come out in my writing. **

**But hey ho- there's always next time! ^^**

**So, back to this fic-this is where the action starts! :D**

**Enjoy!**

Early the next morning, Sam awoke to the sound of silence once more, the vast absence of noise ringing in his ears as he groggily unzipped himself from his sleeping bag. His head skimmed the side of the tent as he awkwardly twisted round to stop himself from rolling on top of Dean, but he soon found that he shouldn't have bothered.

'Dean?' he called out, his voice cracking through lack of moisture. He swallowed hard and kneeled up, dragging the zip of the tent all the way up in one solid movement.

He poked his head out the tent, turning like an owl looking for prey. He spied his brother by the now extinct fire, sitting on a log that wasn't there last night.

'What are you doing out here so early dude? It's freezing early in the morning.' He said, finding a space on the log next to Dean and sitting down, feeling the log move with the added weight.

'Couldn't sleep, could I?' Your freaking snoring kept me awake!' Dean grumbled, not looking at him.

Sam smiled inwardly. This was what he liked to call a 'Dean Bluff'. Dean would make up some excuse for either not doing something, or indeed to do something, and he would expect everyone to believe it, even if it was a blatant lie.

Sam knew this was a blatant lie, of course, because he- and Dean- knew perfectly well he didn't snore.

'Oh, right.' He said anyway, shrugging and standing back up. 'Sorry about that bro-we'll have to fix your tent then, so you can sleep in peace.' He wasn't in the mood for arguing, and he could tell Dean didn't want to either.

'Okay-now, lets get back to business!' Dean announced, ripping a map seemingly out of nowhere and laying it flat on the dirt ground, the twigs under the map making names and colours pop out from the paper.

Sam glanced across at the map, before sitting cross-legged in front of it, opposite Dean.

'I say we stay within a few miles of here-make this base camp- and we just keep going until we find the damn thing. It's gonna be hard to find, Sammy, but I think with the two of us we can stop it before it strikes again.' He said, smiling at his brother as he looked up.

'Well, shouldn't we split up? It would mean we covered more ground?' Sam added, looking up at his brother and inwardly groaning when the smile slipped and a grimace was revealed.

'No Sam-we're gonna do it my way? Okay? We're gonna do it together, and fast. No way are you going off by yourself dude-no way.' Dean said hotly, and with the tiniest nod of his head to tell Sam _that was that._

Sam sighed a little but nodded all the same. He expected that reaction so he wasn't too surprised. He just wished that _for once_ Dean would let him show him that he could do things, was capable of doing all the things he could do.

'When are we setting off?' he said instead, standing up and going back into his tent and pulling out his duffel.

'Now, if you want?' Dean said, and he pulled his made-up duffel from behind the log as he stood, immediately ready, in front of his brother.

'Ok, let's do this.' Sam replied.

* * *

><p>The rock face shifted slightly, sending tiny fragments of blue-grey rock and dust tumbling down the mountain side and into Sam's eyes. He squeezed them shut and shook his head, trying to dispel them, but in the end his tears did the job.<p>

Dean turned around from his climbing position and looked down, a flash of concern on his features.

Sam silently waved him on; he just wanted to get up to the next pathway.

They had spent the morning and most of the afternoon going around the woods, looking into deep chasms carved by time into the ground, and trudging through vast expanses of bog and grass, but had ultimately come up with nada. Dean had suggested going higher up, but Sam was hesitant. He had completed a course in mountain climbing at Stanford, and he knew that it wasn't a walk in the park.

Dean nodded and continued on his way, trying not to dislodge more rock. He carefully picked his way upwards; his old boots with the little grip were serving him pretty well, but he knew he was going to have to replace them as soon as they got back into town. He looked down once more, and was pleased with the progress Sam was making.

He should have been paying more attention to his footing though, as his foot slipped through a group of loose fitting rock, sending football sized pieces of stone careering onto Sam.

'Hold on!' he yelled, whilst trying desperately to regain his own footing. His hands scrabbled upwards, but he couldn't find any purchase on the rock, his feet slipping as he tried desperately to find a little solid ground.

He heard Sam's yelp of surprise, and seconds later his cry of pain, but he couldn't turn around or else he would be the next thing falling on top of his brother.

'You ok?' he yelled instead, his feet finding better purchase on the mountain face, his whole body shaking with the exertion of trying to keep close to the mountain side.

He heard Sam splutter and cough before he started, so he guessed some of the dust had gone in his airways.

'Well-'he began, clearing his throat. 'I have been better, believe me!' he heard him chuckle, which made Dean laugh loudly, glad he was ok.

He began to climb a bit more, to find a way for both of them to get to safety, before he heard Sam gasp from under him, and then he cried out in alarm.

'Dean! I'm slipping!' he yelped, and as Dean twisted he heard alarmed scrabbling and the sound of displaced rocks.

'Sammy!' he yelled, trying to look down and finding clouds of dust blocking his view.

'Damn!' he yelled to himself, and he concentrated moving up, spying a ledge a little higher up and scrabbling for it.

He heard Sam start panting and groaning in panic, his voice high and cracking, but at least he was still on the mountain side.

Dean twisted onto his stomach as soon as he reached the ledge and looked down, finally spotting his brother a little way down, his face pale and his feet moving fast to find purchase on the dry dust and loose rocks.

'Sammy-look up! Reach out for my hand bro!' he called down, stretching out and putting down his hand.

'Deeean!' he heard Sam cry out, and Dean was instantly reminded of time when Sam had got stuck up a tree aged five, and Dean had to coax the panicked kid to fall two feet into his arms.

'Come on Sammy, just reach out-I'll do the rest!' he promised, nodding even though Sam couldn't see him.

'I can't see...' he heard Sam yelp, but he saw him press his fingers into the rock, and finally his feet were still.

'Come on...a little higher...' Dean coaxed, trying to stretch out his body a little more to allow his brother to reach better.

He heard Sam cry out in exertion, his voice cracking as he hoisted himself up towards Dean.

'It's going again!' he yelped, and as the rock fell away beneath his feet, a moment that caused Dean to nearly lose all sanity, Sam yelled out once more and threw himself upwards, his hand landing straight into his brother's waiting arms.

Dean grunted as he started to pull, both arms pulling Sam's one hand up toward him, until he could grab his shoulder and back and drag him up, crying out and gasping as Sam came up next to him.

Sam slumped to the ground, panting heavily, resting his head on the cold ground. He felt Dean crawl beside him and start to pat him down looking for injuries, and seconds later strong arms lifted him from the ground and twisted him around so he was sitting upright, harsh light glaring in his blurry eyes.

'Sam, you ok? Come on man-are you hurt?' Dean asked hurriedly, looking him up and down with a look of horror on his face.

'I'm fine...I'm fine...' he muttered, wiping his dust-covered face with his sleeve. 'Wasn't a big drop.' He chuckled dryly, coughing to get the dust out of his throat.

Dean sank back into the cliff face, closing his eyes with a relieved look on his face. When he looked back at his brother his eyes were sombre. 'Thought I'd lost you bro.' He muttered thickly, before shaking his head and clearing his own throat.

He spotted a path weaving out a little way to the left of their ledge-they had found a way out.

'Come on, before this damn mountain come down around us.' He joked, but he was serious.

Sam nodded and shakily stood up, brushing himself down as he did so.

He followed his brother along the path and was grateful when the path widened and they saw trees again, without a rock in sight. He breathed a sigh of relief and sank to the floor against a tree, closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh air, clearing his lungs from the dust.

'You ok?' Dean asked him, and Sam opened his eyes to find him staring quizzically, his head tilted to one side.

'Yeah, yeah I'm good Dean.' He said, nodding strongly. It was a bit of a shock, and his stomach and mind was still spinning as he sat there, but he was glad to be onto solid ground once more.

'We should go...' he muttered, standing up, grasping the tree for support as he veered to one side.

Dean nodded, ready to pounce in case Sam fell again, but he was satisfied he was stable once he started walking around, so he guessed it was ok.

He walked next to him, looking sideways at him as they did, but in the end he walked confidently next to him, until they stopped once more as the crash of branches and leaves met their ears.

As they stood there, looking at each other in alarm, a deafening roar blasted through the silence, and suddenly, all hell broke loose.

**What's happening, and what will happen next? Find out in the next chapter!**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please review, I would love to know what you thought of it!**

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

Dean didn't know what happened.

One minute, he was standing in front of Sam, protecting him from the whirl of sound and weight that had suddenly been unleashed at them, the next he wasn't. He remembered searing pain as huge claws scraped his chest, felt warm blood coursing down his chest and the side of his face as he was flung aside, Sammy's yell of alarm ringing in his ears as he hit the floor.

He remembered scrabbling up and falling back down, his blurry eyes somehow registering a dark shape attacking his brother again and again; Sam's screams of pain echoing through the woods.

He remembered falling onto his stomach before standing up once more, swaying and lurching dangerously to the side in his effort to get to his little brother.

He recalled looking desperately around on the forest floor for his duffel, which contained the implements he could use to gank the Wendigo, but he couldn't see it.

The last thing he remembered was another deafening roar as he came level with Sam, lurching in front of him to take the next blow, when another large claw swiped his face, and everything went black.

* * *

><p>He awoke to the tang of blood in his mouth and a ringing in his ears.<p>

He sat up groggily, groaning as a new pain blossomed in the back of his head. He reached around and pressed it into his hair, bringing back his hand covered in sticky, half-congealed blood.

'S-Sammy?' he murmured, looking around for his younger brother.

'Here...' a small voice permeated the air, a gasp of pain following the statement.

'I'm coming dude...' Dean replied, spotting Sam on the floor, leaning against a large rock, a pool of congealed blood collecting around him.

'Oh god...' he gulped, feeling his stomach drop as he walked nearer.

'It...looks worse than it is...' Sam tried to explain, but his pale face and chattering teeth giving his brother no relief.

'Yeah ok dude.' He said instead, falling to his knees as he surveyed the damage; his face seemed ok, just a few scrapes across his face, but as his eyes worked downward, something made him hitch in breath.

'Oh god...'

The bone in Sam's lower left leg was broken. No, scratch that, it had literally snapped. His leg hung at a limp and entirely unnatural angle, blood pooling around from where the bone could be stuck out.

Dean had to press a hand to his mouth to stop himself from puking. He couldn't do that, Sammy needed him.

'How bad Dean? I...I couldn't bring myself to look.' Sam asked, his voice suddenly childlike as his brown eyes bored into Dean's.

'It...It's pretty bad Sammy, I aint gonna lie-it's really bad.' He replied, trying to keep his voice calm.

Sam nodded and sank back, his teeth chattering more. 'What are we gonna do?' he asked.

This question caught Dean in surprise. He looked up at his brother, confused. 'What do you mean? I'm gonna take you down the mountain, and I'm gonna drive to the nearest hospital.' He said, nodding.

Sam shook his head and grabbed Dean's hand; Dean felt his stomach drop as Sam's blood smeared onto the back of his hand. His brother needed help, badly.

'You can't Dean-That Wendigo needs to be stopped. Put my tent up and fix me a splint for my leg, I'll be ok here...you just gank that fugly then come back.' He explained. He could feel a deep pain throbbing in his lower leg, but didn't want to look down; he thought he'd faint if he did.

'No way man-the bastard can wait, you're my concern now...' Dean said firmly, and he stood up, only swaying a little, and he looked around, spotting the equipment a few feet away. He looked back down and stooped to grab his brother's shoulders to gingerly help him up. Sam moved away, hissing with pain, and flashed his brother a look.

'Dean-you know as well as I do that this is our only chance to kill this monster-it'll be gone next time you come up here. Do it now and we can go for good. If we leave now, more people will die. You know that.' He said with such conviction Dean was taken aback.

He shouldn't be even listening to this-Sam needed a hospital, end of story. But he had a point...

'No Sam, I'm not going to risk you getting more hurt just to gank a stupid Wendigo.' He said angrily, walking over to get the bag.

Sam laughed breathily and shrugged. 'What else can it do, apart from kill me?' he said. He knew he was right, and so did Dean.

Dean looked helplessly down at him, before he stood back, taking in the situation and thinking.

He had painkillers in his bag, the tent was big enough for him to be safe in, he could make a splint-but what if it came back to finish the job?

'I can't do this Sammy, I have to take you to the hospital man, your seriously hurt-'

'-Make me splint and give me some of those painkillers, I'll be fine till you come back.'

'It might come back and attack again.'

'It might not.'

'Sammy, please...'

'No Dean-trust me, okay? Just for once, do what I say, instead of not doing it how you want it- I promise you I will be fine.' Sam said, now getting annoyed with his brother- couldn't Dean see this was the only way?

Dean threw up his hands, yelling in frustration. 'You are so STUBBORN!' he growled. He knew he shouldn't be getting angry with Sam, but it was so tempting just to wrap him in his damn tent and drag him back to the Impala...

'Like you are?' Sam replied simply, pouting at his brother before giving him a serious look.

'Listen, if your quick, you can gank it tonight, it can't have gone far-then you come back to me and we can go.' He said, now smiling at his brother.

Dean nodded slowly, seeing how this all made sense. He knew he could go and kill it quick, it wouldn't take long, but he was so worried for Sammy it was clouding everything else.

'Think of the people that could die if you didn't do this.' Sam said, ashamed that he had to use blackmail to make his brother see sense.

Dean's head snapped up, and he nodded with more feeling. 'Ok.' He said simply, his face pale. 'Ok, I'll do it...'

'Ok, but can you make me a splint and give me some painkillers before you go?' Sam asked hopefully, smiling when his brother chuckled.

'Course I will bro, just give me minute to fix it up.' Dean said, rummaging in the bag and bringing out a blister-pack of tablets. He gave them to Sam along with a water bottle.

'I'll take some food and the other water bottle-make sure you have your phone on you, so you can keep me up to date, okay?' he said, checking his phone as he did so. His heart sank when he saw the screen.

'Damn it, no signal.' He muttered, growling with anger again.

'I'll be fine Dean, I promise.' Sam reassured him. 'It doesn't feel as bad any more.' He grinned, but he knew his facade wasn't fooling Dean.

'Are you sure Sammy? I wont go if you don't want me to, and I'll help you down?' he said, willing his brother to reconsider, but Sam shook his head.

'I'm sure dude-I just need my splint and my tent, and I'm set.' He said, smiling at him.

'Ok...ok...' Dean stood down and walked off to get Sam's tent up. It took him a while; he knew he had to get it right this time; Sam's life depended on it now.

Soon enough it was done, and it was time to get Sam's splint done.

'This might hurt a bit Sammy...' he muttered as he walked past his brother. Sam nodded quietly, swallowing hard.

Moments later he heard a deep crack, and Dean came back with a thick branch, a hard look on his face.

'You need some bandages...' he whispered.

'I know what I need Sammy, don't worry.' Dean attempted a smile before he turned away quickly, his lower lip trembling despite himself. He cleared his throat and rummaged into his duffel again, revealing a thick roll of bandages.

'Ok...you ready?' he asked.

'No.' Sam answered truthfully, his face whiter than before.

'Ok...let's do this...' Dean replied.

Sam looked up as his brother took a deep breath. 'I'm...I'm gonna have to straighten your leg Sammy.' Dean said, almost apologetically.

Sam took a deep breath himself and steadied himself. 'I know.' He replied, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

Dean looked down at his brother's broken leg and gently put one of his hands on his knee cap, and the other on his ankle. He heard Sam hiss and jerk in a breath at the mere touch.

'I'm so sorry dude...' he whispered, taking off one of his hands to nudge the branch into place a bit more and to make sure the bandages where in easy reach so this could be done quickly.

Seconds later, he was ready. He steadied himself and looked up at his brother-Sam's eyes where still shut.

'I'm doing it now, okay?'

'Go for it.' he whispered, a trickle of sweat falling down his face.

Dean placed his hands back onto position, and pulled and pushed his hands in one movement.

Sam cried out in pain, and tears sprung in Dean's eyes. The tears fell when he felt bone shift beneath his palms. A dull crack met their ears and Sam's leg was straight.

Sam gasped out a breath, whimpering weakly as he opened his eyes again. He saw Dean sitting back on his haunches, shaking, and reached out a hand to put on his shoulder.

He hissed with pain as he moved, but Dean gently evaded his grip and quickly got to work; he brought the branch close to Sam's leg before using the bandages to keep it in place. He tried his best to stop the tears but still they fell, until Sam's cries faded into an agonised silence, and he had finished his work.

'Done.' He whispered, looking at Sam with wide eyes.

'Thank you.' Sam nodded, and meaning it.

Dean drew in breath then stood up, holding out his arms for Sam to catch hold. 'Let's get you into the tent dude, you'll be comfier there.' He said, attempting a smile down to his brother.

Sam nodded and held out his arms, letting Dean grab his wrists as he heaved himself up. He stood heavily on his good leg, but he leant against Dean just to get his balance again.

'I got ya Sammy...I aint letting go...' Dean promised, helping him to hop to the tent. With much awkward tugging and leaning, they finally managed to plant Sam in the tent, and Dean knelt in beside him, sorting out his sleeping bag and other blankets to Sam wouldn't have too much trouble.

'I'm going to go get you some firewood for when it gets dark-you want me to make it for you before I go?' he said, eyeing Sam's leg with concern.

'Nah, I can make it from the tent-'Sam chuckled. '-but you can get the stuff!'

'Course I will bro.' Dean smiled, before he disappeared outside the tent.

For a while, all was silent, and Sam was left alone with nothing but a tension headache and the dull pain of his broken leg. It didn't hurt as much as it did before the splint was fixed, but the pain was still a bitch.

He drew in a shaky breath and tried to stop himself from shaking. He was fine, he was going to be fine-Dean would probably be back by morning, and then they would get out of this hell hole.

Dean popped his head back round the tent, making Sam jump slightly.

'Right, I've got the firewood and some more tinder; it's enough for a couple of days-not that I'm going to be that long.' Dean finished hurriedly. He didn't want to worry Sammy any more than he obviously was.

'I know you won't dude-just get it done, yeah?' Sam replied, putting on a brave face, when all he wanted to do was beg his brother not to leave. But people's lives depended on them being strong-they had to do this, no matter how much they didn't like the thought of it.

'You bet ya dude.' Dean smiled, before reaching into the tent and giving his brother a tight hug. As he resurfaced he reached into his shirt and pulled out the ornamental skull necklace that hung there. He pulled it off his neck and pressed it into Sam's palm, nodding at Sam's quizzical look. 'I want you to keep that, just for the time being, okay?' he said, standing up and taking a deep breath.

'I can't take this Dean, it's yours!' Sam protested, but Dean held strong, putting up his hand in refusal.

'I know, but I want you to keep it with you-you'll make me feel ten times better if you do.' He explained.

Sam looked at him for a few seconds before nodding and grasping the necklace tightly, smiling slightly at his brother.

'That's my boy.' Dean whispered, before winking at Sam and picking up his pack.

'Make sure you eat, and take your tablets-and don't forget you need to make the fire!' he called as he looked down, stepping backwards a few paces.

'Yeah yeah, I know...' Sam chuckled, wincing slightly as pain lanced up his leg and into his abdomen. It was going to be a long night.

'See you real soon bro.' Dean promised, waving, before he turned and walked into the trees, trying not to look back as he did so.

Sam watched him go, a deep feeling on unease deepening in his stomach. He hoped Dean wouldn't be long; he just wanted him to be safe.

'Bye Dean.' He whispered, before hissing in pain once more as he sat in silence, contemplating the lonely hours ahead.

**Poor Sammy **

**Will Dean get back quickly, or will it take longer than either of them expected? Find out in the next chapter!**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, alerted and put this story on their favourite's list-it means a lot! ^^**

**Please review!**

**Xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! I'm back with another chapter- I can't keep away from this one! ^^**

**I hope you like the lay-out for this chapter, it was the only way I could think of doing it! ^^**

**Enjoy...**

Sam blew air out his cheeks, before his chattering teeth took over his face. It had now been four hours since Dean had left to sort out the Wendigo, and he desperately wished he was back already.

His leg twitched and throbbed deeply beneath the blanket that was keeping him warm; the pain had ebbed away slightly, but Sam guessed that was because his body was going numb from the cold.

He snuggled deeper into his sleeping bag, the silence of the forest clearing now hurting his head; it sounded like the whole place was vibrating with silence, he didn't like it one bit.

He peered out from the tent at the slowly setting sky-he should really get a fire going, but he just didn't want to move.

'Come on Sam, it's now or never...' he muttered to himself, before chuckling and taking the sleeping bag away from his body. He breathed in deeply before leaning to his good side; he didn't want to put too much weight and pressure on that side, it would just make things worse.

He crawled along to the end of his tent and poked his arms and shoulders out, stretching his broken leg in a comfortable position to his side-well, as comfortably as he could get it.

Gritting his teeth, he reached out for the bits of wood and tinder Dean had left near the tent, and set to work making his fire.

* * *

><p>Dean huddled down in a path of low hanging branches, surveying the path in front of him; he looked up at the trees around him, deep scratches lacerated into the wood, a sure sign that the Wendigo had been here.<p>

'Come on you little bitch...' he whispered to the forest, thumbing his lighter that was in his pocket. He had everything set for the party, now the guest of honour had to arrive-better late than never.

He crept out from his hiding place and walked down the path; keeping into the shadows so he would go unnoticed at this stage...he needed to find the damn thing first.

As he walked further, the storm clouds gathered in, and, with an immense clap of thunder, the heavens opened, rain pouring from the sky.

'Figures...' Dean muttered, shaking his head before ducking for cover once more.

* * *

><p>As the rain tightened its grip on the forest, a vey wet and miserable Sam Winchester was busy trying to stop his small fire from sputtering out, using some plastic as a kind of tent so the flame was protected.<p>

'Figures.' He muttered, shaking his head ruefully as he looked up; the rain really was pelting down.

He hoped Dean had found some cover, and suddenly felt a pang of longing for his brother that he hadn't felt since he was a kid-he wanted his brother back.

'Hurry Dean...' he whispered, shaking his head and pulling the sleeping bag around his neck against the chill as a wind joined the rain, the dark sky now feeling very claustrophobic inside the tent he was in.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, the rain had died down enough for Dean to rate it 'Unflood worthy', so he came out of his hiding place from under a tree and continued walking down the chalk path, using the snapped branches and scratches on the trees as his map. The Wendigo seemed to be heading in a southwards direction, and as he walked Dean hoped he wouldn't be gone too long-he knew Sam needed a hospital fast. He suddenly felt very angry with himself-why didn't he argue better? Why didn't he just drag Sam away from the forest and into the nearest hospital?<p>

He knew this answer of course- Because Sam was right. As usual; People would die if he didn't do this-he just hoped he got it done fast.

Dean chuckled and reached into the collar of his shirt to hold his amulet for a second, and felt a pang when he found he wasn't there. He remembered where he left it and felt relief wash over him. He didn't know why, or if there was any truth in it-but he felt so much better knowing Sam had it.

Suddenly, another deafening roar met his ears, making Dean jump and instinctively look to his side to protect Sam.

He looked around for the Wendigo, cursing himself for his slowness in reacting, and quickly got out his Molotov cocktail, keeping his lighter in his pocket so he didn't get it wet until the time was right.

As quietly as he could, he crept back into some bushes, keeping an eye out all around him. The bitch was here somewhere...he just needed to find it.

* * *

><p>Sam sighed, boredom and coldness an unwelcome alliance in his body. He needed to know if Dean was ok, he couldn't stand just being here, a sitting duck, no help to anyone.<p>

He fished around in his jacket pocket and brought out his cell phone; he remembered Dean saying he had no signal, but he figured he could at least try.

He hissed in a sudden pain in his leg, a bead of sweat rolling down his face, before he thumbed in his brother's number.

He put the phone to his ear as the dialling tone beeped. He waited for his call to be connected with a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach-if he had a dialling code; the signal was fine...so why wasn't Dean picking up?

He actually gasped with relief as the call was connected and his brother answered the phone.

'Sammy? You ok?' he asked hurriedly, concern apparent in his voice.

'Yeah I'm fine, well, not fine-but you know what I mean.'

'Uh ha, so why the call?' Dean asked, and from those words Sam knew Dean was on to something.

'Should I leave you to get on with things?' he asked.

'No, its ok, I think it's gone now...hold on-'a shout of surprise followed his brother's voice.

The sound suddenly stopped amid a dull sound; Dean had dropped the phone.

'Dean? DEAN?' Sam yelled into his phone, worry and adrenalin now coursing through his veins. He moved quickly upwards to try and move out the tent but his leg protested, sending him back on his backside, pain now lancing from his leg.

'Damn it!' he shouted, angry at his own weakness. 'Dean!' he yelled back into the phone.

He heard a scrabbling on the other line, and suddenly Dean was back on, his voice now ragged, his breathing quick.

'Sammy-get out the forest now! Don't wait for me, there's more than one, I-ARRRGHH!' Dean yelled, his voice rising and cracking before he yelped in pain.

'Dean! No!' Sam yelled, tears now falling down his face. He was listening to his brother being attacked-and he couldn't do a thing to stop it.

He heard a tinny roar from one of the Wendigos, before it was drowned out by Dean's yell of pain again, his brother's screams getting louder and louder.

'SAAAAM GET OUT!' He heard him yell from a distance-Dean had dropped the phone again.

'Dean!' Sam shouted, before looking down to desperately make his leg work.

'Please...Please...' he whimpered, before twisting to the end of the tent, the rain now back with full force.

He shut his phone and stuffed it in his jacket before crawling out the tent, sticking his leg out like a pirate with a wooden leg.

'I'm coming Dean...I'm coming...' he growled through gritted teeth, pain washing through him like the rain chilling him to the bone...

**What's going to happen next? Is Sam going to be able to reach Dean in time?**

**Find out in the next chapter!**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please review this chapter; I would love to know what you thought of it!**

**Xx **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! Thank you to everyone who's reading this story, I hope you're enjoying the ride as much as I am writing it!**

**This chapter is a bit longer, so I hope you like it!**

**Onwards...**

The rain was still hammering down when Dean regained consciousness many minutes later, the hunter finding himself in the bottom of a large crater on the side of the forest path.

He turned his head with a groan only to find his nostrils completely covered with water, the brackish liquid making him gag as he scrambled to sit up.

He immediately wished he hadn't; a sickening mix of pain and dizziness washed over him, making him scrunch up his eyes to stop the world from spinning. He gingerly put a hand to his head, massaging a large bump that had appeared over his left eyebrow, but as he lifted his other arm he felt a jolt of pain, and suddenly immense agony was unleashed in the area of his shoulder, indicating its dislocation.

'God damn it!' he growled, before an involuntary whimper escaped his lips; he shook his head to get the water out his eyes and found himself looking desperately for Sam. No, he had called Sam, told him to get out the forest.

Dean suddenly cursed himself, yelling into the forest in abject anger-how the hell could Sam get out? His leg was freaking broken! If he had moved-god forbid- he would never make it out the forest, let alone before the Wendigo caught up with him.

Had he sent his brother to his death?

He looked up as he heard a crunching in the twigs and leaves around the crater he was in, and he scrabbled up to the edge, quietly hissing and whimpering in pain as his shoulder banged against a rock as he slid down the mud a little. He cautiously looked up and around, his body dropping with relief as he saw that the sound came from a very brave rabbit looking for food.

'Good to see ya Buddy...' Dean muttered, before shaking his head chuckling-talking to animals wasn't a good sign...

Where did the Wendigo go? He remembered it-and its cronies- going back into the forest after flinging him into the ditch. Dean frowned as he recalled the fugly's work...why didn't they overpower him and take him to their lair? What they did was the beginning of their attack mode-why didn't they carry it through?

The answer dawned on the hunter like a bell tolling in his mind. They were playing with him.

Dean groaned in pain as he pulled himself up the crater, slowly battling through the mud and rain water slowly filling the crevice. It was hard going, but pretty soon he was up, his blood and mud spattered leather jacket not enough to keep him warm as he shivered-he looked around the path, trying to figure out which way to go.

As another, distant, roar met his ears, he instinctively reached into his jacket for his Molotov, but with a jolt he found it wasn't there.

'What the...Where is it...?' Dean muttered, his voice wavering as frustrated tears threatened to fall down his face. Why didn't he listen to his heart and stay with Sam?

'Sammy...' he whispered, hoping his little brother was still in the tent, safe and warm from all of this, waiting for him to come back from the rain.

* * *

><p>Sam cried out in agony as his splint lifted and dragged against a large branch that the rest of his body had easily dodged. His leg actually burned with pain, the throbbing ache now bypassed to full-on, flourished agony.<p>

The rain had started up again, and Sam had forgotten to grab his jacket from the tent; he was still in his T-shirt and a ripped pair of Jeans, crawling on a sodden mud path trying to reach his brother.

He stopped for a second to catch his breath, his chattering teeth and the coldness nothing compared to what he felt in his leg.

He reached into his jean's pocket and pulled out his cell phone one more time, this time hoping his brother would pick it up.

'Please Dean...please pick up...' he willed the phone, bringing it to his ear with his mouth still praying his brother would do it. He had tried to ring Dean a few more times since the phone went dead, but it was as if Dean had fallen off the grid. Or else he was...

'No...he's ok...' he said out loud, ignoring his pessimistic psyche with a growl and a shake of his head. His brother was fine, maybe he had run away, couldn't risk phoning him again, maybe he was just lost his phone, or he was only a little hurt and couldn't reach it...

The phone clicked a few times, and a small, pained voice picked up.

'S-Sammy?'

'Dean? Oh thank god dude, I thought you were...anyway, where are you man?' Sam asked, before sticking the phone between his shoulder and ear and starting to drag himself backwards along the path once more. He really should stand up and see how far he could hop, but he didn't want to get too tired this quickly.

'I don't know Sam, I really don't know-Arghhh...' he whispered his hiss of pain; presumably to stop him from worrying, but Sam wasn't convinced.

'Are you ok? How bad are you hurt?' he asked urgently, before twisting himself around with a groan and latching on to the nearest tree. It seemed he had the same flair for disguising pain as his brother did-

'Sam what are you doing? Please don't tell me you-oh God say you're not out the tent?' Dean's begging voice sounded desperate. Sam suppressed a chuckle before another hiss of pain escaped his lips.

'Dude, you really think after that last call I'd just sit in the tent and wait for the rangers to bring your body back? No way man-I'm coming to find you.' He promised, before he cursed as he dropped the phone trying to hoist himself to his feet.

'Damn it...' he muttered, before bending down, his broken leg stuck out like a branch as he fished his phone from a patch of mud.

'Sammy...Sammy?' he heard his brother's voice yell, getting louder and louder before he shushed him. 'I'm fine man, I promise-I just dropped the phone-'

'DON'T DO THAT!'

'Feels horrible when that happens, don't it?' Sam teased, before he took a large hop across the mud path, and nearly breaking his neck in the process.

He gingerly got up off the floor, leaning his hands on his good knee as he slowly surfaced, the rain now spraying in his eyes as the wind changed. Goose-pimples erupted on his arms and he shivered, teeth chattering once more.

'Dean? Turn on your phone GPS-I'll track you.' He said, taking the phone off his ear to stare down at the screen. Seconds later a series of co-ordinates, presumably his brother's whereabouts, appeared in green writing on his screen.

'Got them Dean-get yourself to safety and I'll come.' He said, before looking down with frustration at his throbbing leg. He didn't say he was going to get there fast...

'No Sammy, I'm not going to risk it-if you can move you can damn well move down the mountain and into the Impala, and you can damn well get to a freaking hospital!' Dean said angrily.

'No-I'm not going to leave you behind, what sort of brother would that make me?'

'A damn smart one!'

'Would you do that if it was me in your place? Huh?'

'...I'm me and you're you-so do it!'

'No brother leaves another brother behind-I'm coming to help you!' Sam said defiantly, before he broke off the connection and looked down at the co-ordinates once more.

He looked down at his leg, the rain obscuring his vision as he willed it to support him, if only a little.

Slowly, and with a lot of trepidation, he again began his painful journey down the dirt path.

* * *

><p>Dean stared incredulously down at his closed phone, anger, worry and frustration all building in his stomach. The rain chilled him to the bone as he stood there, the silence permeating the forest now the least of his worries. Sam was out there, maybe lost, definitely hurt-he had to find him before something more happened to him.<p>

He tensed as another roar met his ears, and a large cracking and breaking of branches met his ears.

'Oh just do it already!' he yelled to the Wendigo, sick of its games. He just wanted to be out this damn forest, away from the rain and the mud and the hurting.

'Come on then you little bitch!' he shouted, not caring if he had weapons or not-this bastard was going down.

He listened hard, tilting his head to figure out where the noise was coming from, but the damn rain was making it so hard to hear...he hoped Sammy was ok...

He couldn't think of Sam. Not now. He had to find the Wendigo-but first he had to find the Molotov cocktail he had dropped.

He growled in pain as his shoulder lanced with pain, his arm jerking and causing more pain. He should really put it back himself, but he didn't want to get it wrong and end up breaking it-he needed all the relatively pain free body parts he could spare now.

He stooped to avoid the harsh wind and biting rain, his hair flat to his head, his clothes sodden- he started walking back to the crevice where he had fallen in, hoping to find it cast aside, and as he walked he began begging out loud... say it isn't broken...

More branches broke from above, and Dean suddenly felt a feeling he hadn't experienced since he had first started hunting, all those years ago.

He was scared.

His teeth chattered as he desperately continued to look, the coldness now numbing his body as he searched the rapidly flooding earth for his weapon. At this rate, it probably wouldn't be any good now-it would be full of water.

A few seconds later, as Dean was nearly giving up any hope of finding his Molotov, he spotted the bottle by the edge of the crater, the thin string that he would light dripping with water.

As he approached it he begged to all the gods he didn't believe in as he surveyed the damage. Please let it work...

He gasped with relief when he pulled some more of the string out and saw it was dryer than the rest. That would be enough to light and send the bastards back to wherever they came from.

His head shot up when the branches next to where he was stooping snapped, the sodden leaves making a deep sound as they fell to the muddy path. He quickly stood up, grasping the Molotov in one hand, hissing with pain as he took his lighter out his pocket with the other.

He shoulder would have to adapt to the pain for a while, he had to get this done for good.

He cried out in alarm as another deafening roar met his ears; this one was definitely too close for comfort.

He steadied himself and started flicking his lighter to get a flame going; he knew these bastards were fast-he needed to be completely ready when the time came to light this baby.

'Come on, come on...' he muttered, looking around the forest clearing, the pain in his shoulder had now dissipated to a dull ache due to the adrenalin coursing through his veins.

Another roar met his ears, so close he could almost smell the Wendigo's putrid breath. This was it. He flicked his lighter for the last time and dropped it against the Molotov's string 'Trigger', the flame spitting in the rain as it alighted.

He raised his arm as he felt the air disperse around him as the Wendigo charged-he actually saw the movement, which again showed it wasn't hunting for food.

'Got you.' He muttered before raising his arm to throw the Cocktail, his eyes trained in front of him.

But he was too slow.

The Wendigo ran full pelt into him, lifting him into the air with a crunch of bones and a yell of pain. The Molotov cocktail, now redundant, fell to the floor, the flame petering out as fat raindrops poured down on it.

Dean fell heavily against the tree, the hunter sliding down the wet bark with a whimper of pain. He fell to the floor with a dull thump and a splash as he fell into another crater, the water now over his chest and up to his chin.

He could feel himself losing consciousness but fought to stay awake, his blurry vision even more obscured as he looked up at the dark shape that must be the Wendigo, come to finish the job.

As he resigned himself to his fate he heard a yell from somewhere above him, before the Wendigo seemed to abruptly turn to something behind it.

Seconds later he had to shield his eyes as bright flames erupted in his field of vision, a squeal of monstrous pain filling his ears; the screeching of the Wendigo's last moments ringing in his ears like a bell.

As the Wendigo crumpled, and Dean started to succumb to the darkness, he could just make out a figure limping towards him, before they looked down on his prone form.

With the rain falling on his face, Dean felt his eyelids grow heavy, until he fell into unconsciousness's waiting grasp.

**What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter!**

**I'm planning on doing one or two more chapters of this fic-I really hope you enjoyed this one!**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please review!**

**X **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! Thank you for all the reviews, they all mean a lot!**

**This is the second to last chapter of this story, so I really hope you've enjoyed the ride!**

**Onwards...**

Sam looked down at the charred remains of the Wendigo, the rain still falling full-force, driving the mud on the ground down the slight hill in torrents, collecting at the bottom of the crater he was standing in front of. The pain in his leg had subsided, the chattering of his teeth from shock and cold still raged on; he shook his head slightly to get rid of the giddy, light headed feeling in his mind.

He heard a gasp from below him, coming from the crater, and immediately a look of shock clouded his face-Dean was down there.

'I'm coming Dean!' he said, pain flourishing in his leg as he moved it once more; he gritted his teeth from the pain and hopped the few steps to the crater-edge, before falling onto his good knee beside it, looking in on his brother.

The brown, mud filled water filled the bottom of the crater, and Sam saw the level was rising-

Dean was on his back, eyes closed, the water up to his neck, the raindrops falling on his unmoving face. With a thrill of horror he saw his shoulder was badly out of place, and he saw blood on his jacket.

'Dean?' he asked, for his brother did gasp out in pain, which meant he had been conscious for a while. 'Wake up bro!' he said loudly, relieved when Dean's eyes fluttered, and he lifted his head slowly out of the rising water. 'Sammy?' he said, before he coughed hard, the power moving the water like a current.

'It's okay Dean, I got the Wendigo-I'm gonna get you out now!' he called down to his brother, who nodded before squeezing his eyes shut as he began to move. He heard Dean groan in pain as he sat up, the water lapping around him, bits of mud and twigs catching on his jeans as he tried to rise to his feet.

'I'm going to put my hands down, and when you catch hold I'll pull you up-ok?' Sam said, frowning down at his leg before he moved it awkwardly to his side and lay on his front, the mud spattering into his face as the force of the raindrops propelled them upwards.

'I'm sorry Sammy...' he heard Dean say, and he again shook his head to dispel the queasy feeling of sadness and frustration that had started to settle in his chest.

'What for Dean?' he asked, figuring if he tried to keep Dean talking then this would be done much quicker, 'Give me your hands bro.' He finished, looking down.

Dean was on his feet; his scared face seemingly miles below him, the water falling into the crater like a waterfall.

'I don't wanna pull you down with me Sam, otherwise neither of us is getting out of here!' he said, before pointing at his shoulder. 'I need to put this back in place too, or I can't grab your hands.'

'Try with one hand then dude-we need to get out now, before this whole place floods!' Sam called down, stretching out his hand more so Dean could grab hold.

'Ok, but if I feel you can't hold me, then I wont do it, you hear?'

'Yeah ok, just do it-I wont let you go, I promise!' Sam replied, his hand now open and awaiting his brother's.

Dean walked over and grabbed his hand, moving his legs upwards as if to climb the crater upwards, whilst Sam attempted to pull him to safety.

From the moment he started he knew it wouldn't work-his feet kept slipping, could find no purchase whatsoever on the fresh and sliding mud; he saw Sam gasp with the weight, saw his face screw up as he tried to pull him up, but they both knew it was hopeless.

'I can't do this Sam, not without you falling in-'

'Just keep going Dean! I'm not leaving you down here to drown!' Sam growled, whether in real anger or not, Dean didn't know.

'Ok...' Dean said, once more allowing Sam to pull him up, this time desperately trying to find some grip on the mud-damn he should've brought new boots before they left.

After a while, little by little, minute by minute, Sam was able to gradually start to pull his brother up, Dean's boots having made some miraculous job of getting some grip.

'Nearly...there...' he gasped out, before Dean's head was nearly level with his own. He saw Dean's contorted face of pain and guessed his shoulder was to blame-his own leg was blooming with abject agony, like thousands of tiny splinters of glass were digging into his flesh. He bit down on his lip and focused on his brother. Dean was very nearly up, but it was going to be really hard to drag him up to ground-level with the state of his shoulder.

He saw Dean wince as they got to eye level, but still his brother smiled; amid the rain and pain he was still the same old Dean, and for that Sam was eternally grateful.

'Hey Sammy?' Dean said as he looked around, the rain falling into his eyes from his drenched hair.

'...Yeah?' Sam replied, reaching forwards and gently putting his arms around his brother's neck, groaning in pain as his leg moved forwards a few inches.

'I really hate camping.'

Sam chuckled at that, the pain momentarily fading for a split second as he allowed himself a laugh.

Dean grinned and winked at him, before using one arm to put around Sam's neck, and, very cautiously, they both worked together to lever Dean out of the crevice.

Dean growled as he was finally up, falling to his stomach in the mud, the coarse brown mud sticking to his eyebrows as he put his head on the back of his hand. He just concentrated on levelling out his breaths, taking deep gasps of air in at a time.

He heard Sam fall beside him, and he looked up to find his brother sitting beside him, his teeth chattering, his lips near blue.

'Y-you look cold s-Sammy.' Dean remarked, nodding at him. Sam shrugged and pointed back at him, or more to his shoulder.

'I sh-should put that ra-right for you...' he stammered, and Dean watched as he dragged himself towards him, his face grimacing as he went.

'I'll come to you Sammy...its ok...' Dean said, sitting up straight, gasping with pain.

Sam nodded and sat back, his leg's fiery pain now dissolving to waves of alarming coldness-he hoped they could get out of here soon.

Dean hurried to his brother's side, crawling through the mud to reach him; when he did he gave him another look-over, but nothing seemed wrong apart from his broken leg. He hoped he would keep it that way.

'Let's do this then...' Sam said, waiting till Dean had positioned himself to his side so he could reach his shoulder without moving too much.

'Ready?' he asked when he was finally ready.

Dean shook his head. 'Not really.'

Sam nodded and took a deep breath. He didn't bother to count to three-he just pushed with one hand and pulled with the other, both brother's hearing the dull crack as Dean's shoulder popped back into place. Dean blanched, squeezed his eyes shut and yelled out in pain, but moments later it was gone.

'Thanks bro-now let's get off this damn mountain!' he said, standing up and holding out his hand for Sam to take.

'What about the others? You said there was more than one.' Sam asked, accepting the hand gratefully.

Dean hoisted him up, and once Sam was up his looked him straight in the eye. 'Listen, you wanna stay up here, track the other bastards with a broken leg and mild hypothermia? Be my guest buddy, but me? I'm getting outta here!' he said, before taking Sam's shoulder gently and moving him to the side.

Sam didn't argue; merely let himself be gently moved away. He was managing to hop on one foot down the safer bits of path, but once they met the torrent of water thundering down the hill halfway down the mountain, Sam began to worry. He was glad Dean had found an alternative route to the sheer cliff they had climbed up, but he didn't think much of this new way down either.

'What are we gonna do?' he whispered to Dean, his voice high and wavering.

Dean looked at him sideways; his whole face now had a tinge of blue in it-but he guessed his wasn't much better.

He too looked down the mountain, but he just didn't know of any other way down.

He stepped back from Sam for a few seconds, before making up his mind.

'I'm gonna have hold on to you real tight as we go down.' He said, looking up to Sam with a small smile on his face.

Sam sighed, before nodding with resignation. 'Just don't let me go.' He said in a small voice.

'Sammy, of course I won't let you go-I got you.' Dean said, before latching on to Sam's side with a tight grip.

Together they both started walking down the mountain, Sam trying to put a little weight on his leg, but the pain kept flourishing with every half step; he gasped out in pain, sometimes crying out as shooting agony lanced up to his stomach.

Dean tried to grit his teeth against the noises, to just concentrate on getting them both down, but in the end the sounds of his brother in pain got too much.

'Hold up, I can't do this Sammy.' He said, looking up at his brother.

'C'mon Dean, we're nearly there now-why don't we sit down and slide down the mountain?' Sam shrugged. 'We used to do it when we where kids.'

'Yeah, but you didn't have a broken leg then, remember?' Dean said, but he looked down the mountain, weighing up his options.

'Dude, we can't walk down it-my leg just won't take it, but we can do this.' Sam reasoned, and in the end Dean had to agree.

'Ok, but we go slow, okay?'

'Right.'

Dean nodded and gingerly helped Sam to sit down. 'How are you gonna hold your leg, so you don't hurt it any more?' he asked, sitting down himself. The mud drenched him, the water running over his legs like he was in a pool.

Sam shrugged, 'I figured I would just hold it up, make sure I didn't get it under me when I slide?' he replied. 'First one down buys the other a coffee back at the motel!' he grinned, before slowly levering himself forwards, and he started to slide down the hillside.

Dean watched him go, shrugging. 'Don't you mean at the hospital?' he whispered, but he followed his brother anyway.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, and they were on the last path until they hit the road.<p>

Dean looked across at Sam; he was back to letting him put all his weight on his body whilst Sam hobbled along, but Dean couldn't help notice Sam getting a little disorientated, his balance wavering a little.

'You ok?' he asked.

'Y-yeah...Na-Not far from the –Row-Road now are –W-we?' Sam said, grinning at Dean. That grin frightened Dean more than anything he had seen these past few days.

'Sam, I'm gonna get ya outta here, but you gotta stay with me bro.' He said, spying the road ahead and feeling relief wash over him.

'W-what do you mean? I'm R-R-right here...' Sam smiled dopily, before his head lolled on his shoulder, Sam giggling incoherently as it did.

'Sammy?' Dean said, horror moving through him like acid, he knew what this was, but surely it wasn't cold enough for real hypothermia? He had only been joking when he said it before; things couldn't get this bad, could they?

'Stay with me man, we're nearly there...'he begged, moving out to the side of the main road. He couldn't see the Impala-maybe they had walked past it?

The road was silent, the rain now slowing to a small stream, but the road was running with water.

'Dean? I-I can't feel my hands...' Sam said, and this time he sounded real scared.

'Stay with me Sammy, oh god, stay with me!' Dean pleaded, gently setting Sam on his feet on the roads edge.

Dean walked out into the middle of the road, all precautions dropped. Sam needed a hospital now.

'HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP US!' he yelled at the top of his voice.

Seconds later, someone did.

Sam grinned and pointed as two beacons of light appeared in the road ahead. 'Dean, c-car.' He managed, before he fell to the floor, his eyes fluttering shut as the car skidded to a halt just a little in front of him.

**Is Sam going to be ok? Find out in the next chapter!**

**Thank you for reading, and please review!**

**Xx **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello! So, this is the last chapter of this fic-I really hope you've all enjoyed reading this story as much as I have writing it!**

**Enjoy this last chapter!**

**Onwards...**

The hum of the overhead light drummed into Dean's head as he sat nervously waiting for any news about his brother. The acidic smell of antiseptic stuck in the back of his throat, making him cough as he looked around; at this late hour it was surprising to see this small amount of people in the waiting room, there was only himself and another equally nervous looking man sitting in the seat opposite him, his face pale and his legs shaking.

Dean gave a polite nod to this stranger, and the man nodded back, giving a very weak smile.

'What are you here for then?' he asked, pointing at Dean with a shaky finger.

'My brother was hurt yesterday, I just managed to convince him to come to the hospital today-they packed him straight off to surgery.' Dean said, actually liking having someone to talk to-all the silence was making him more nervous and edgy.

The man blew air out his cheeks, shaking his head with what looked like pity. 'That bad eh?' he said, before his face fell again. 'My wife just went in, she's just broken her pelvis falling off her horse-the horse fell on top of her.' He said, before his lip quivered and he fell silent.

'I'm sorry man-I'm sure she'll be fine, these doctors are pretty good round here.' Dean said, giving him as much of a comforting smile as he could muster. The man nodded but couldn't seem to speak any more, and Dean watched as the tears began to fall.

He was quite glad when a Nurse called him into the room, but nonetheless, as he passed the man he put a comforting hand on his shoulder, before following the nurse to a room where a serious looking man in scrubs was waiting for him.

'Mr Winchester? Sit down please.' He said, motioning a chair opposite him.

Dean did as he was asked, sliding into the chair with his heart in his mouth.

He watched as the man in scrubs took his glasses off and folded them neatly in his palm before putting them in his top pocket, before he smiled at him, his eyes kind.

'We've just put your brother back in his room to come off the anaesthesia, and I'm very happy to say the operation was a success!' he said, smiling broadly at the younger man in the room.

Dean felt like he could dance with happiness. He returned the smile with vigour, mentally punching the air with joy. 'Thank you so much Doc.' He said, standing up to shake his hand.

The Surgeon did stand up and shake his hand, but when he was finished he gave Dean a serious look and pointed at him. 'You said your brother broke his leg on a trip into the mountains-why where you climbing them in the middle of the wet season, surely you knew the dangers?' he asked, obviously confused.

Dean panicked, wondering exactly what he was going to say, but in the end he just gave the doctor his patented grin and shook his head. 'We thought we could handle it-obviously not.'

The surgeon nodded, before nodding his head to the door. 'Your brother should be awake pretty soon, you can go see him if you want.'

'Would I?' Dean grinned, before thanking the man again and heading for the door.

When he reached Sam's room he slowly opened the door and peeked inside; Sam was still out like a light, an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose to help him come round.

He made his way to his bedside, pulling out a chair and sitting down, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on his brother.

All he had needed when he had dragged Sammy into the hospital was a bit of pain relief for his shoulder and an hour wrapped up in tin foil to get his body back to its normal temperature, but Sam had immedialty been taken into surgery for his leg, and he hadn't seen him since.

'I'm sorry kid.' He whispered, taking Sam's limp hand and giving it a squeeze. He had never meant for the hunt to go this wrong; he thought it would just be a simple afternoon of ganking a pesky fugly, and then back out on the road to their next gig.

He spent the next few minutes staring around the room, occasionally rubbing the back of Sam's hand with his thumb to let him know he was still there.

He couldn't believe he had left Sam alone, but now, with hindsight, he guessed that it was a good thing-if Sam was with him when that bastard had attacked him near that crevice he probably wouldn't be here now, recovering or not-that had too be a good thing.

He heard a cough beside him, and as he looked down he saw Sam's wide brown eyes peering up at him. 'Hey man, your awake...' he smiled, gently lifting the oxygen mask off his face to let him talk.

'Hey Dean, you ok?' Sam asked, his voice husky.

'Me, never better dude-it's you I've been worried about, don't ever scare me like that again!' Dean said, feigning anger before winking at him.

'Sorry...' Sam said, looking down, before trying to sit up.

'Whoa, don't try and move yet Sammy, you might bang your leg again- and don't you dare apologise, none of this was your fault.' Dean said sternly, before nodding to Sam's leg which was now encased in white plaster.

'Ok.' Sam replied, settling back onto his pillows. 'We made it out then?' he said, looking up at Dean with big eyes.

'Yeah, I promised, didn't I?' Dean teased, poking Sam's shoulder and chuckling. 'When your brother promises something, he means it-haven't you figured that out yet?' Dean smiled, rubbing the spot he had poked a little guiltily.

'I guess I have.' Sam chuckled, before he looked down and put his hand down the front of his hospital pyjamas. He pulled something from his neck before thrusting it into Dean's palm.

'I think this belongs to you.' He said, watching as Dean opened his hand.

Dean looked down, before breaking out into a smile; Sam had given him back his amulet, the string a little muddy and wet, but his old amulet nonetheless.

'Thanks little bro.' He said thickly, before putting it back around his neck and pushing it down his t-shirt.

'Your welcome.' Sam nodded, smiling at his brother, before he lay back on his pillow, closing his eyes against a twinge of pain in his leg.

Dean got the hint, and slowly got up, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder as he did. 'I'll come back later once you've had a rest, bring you some fresh clothes and stuff-then I'll see how long they're gonna keep you here, I wanna get going ASAP.' Dean smiled, walking to the door.

'Hey Dean, what about the other Wendigos? Are we gonna go back up there and get them when my leg's better?' Sam asked in a small voice, and Dean's heart sank when he noted a pang of worry in his voice.

'No Sammy, we're not. I'm gonna call around, see if any hunters in the area that can finish the job, sound ok to you?'

Sam nodded, and the look of relief, of total happiness, almost made Dean break down in tears. 'I'm never gonna let anything like this happen again Sammy, I promise.' He said, before he nodded at his brother, who had settled down to sleep, and quietly walked out the room. He shut the door with a small snap, and as he walked down the desolate corridor, which stank of antiseptic and the raw emotion of desperate people, he vowed that this time, no matter what was said, or what happened-

He was going to keep that promise.

**The End.**

**I really hope you've enjoyed this little venture I've written ^^**

**Can I also ask people, if they want, could you read my other new fic I've just started? It's called 'Night Terrors'; I would be really happy if some of you lovely people read that and told me what you thought of it **

**As for this story, again, thanks for everything!**

**Please review one more time, I would love to know what you guys thought of it!**

**Happyday girl**

**Xx **


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